Self-driving vehicles are not a science fiction novelty anymore, but an upcoming reality. For widespread usage to occur, it is important for people to be able to trust automated vehicles. This...Show moreSelf-driving vehicles are not a science fiction novelty anymore, but an upcoming reality. For widespread usage to occur, it is important for people to be able to trust automated vehicles. This study investigates how trust evolves in drivers experiencing “reliably unreliable” vehicle behaviour, compared to drivers who experience a single critical event in an otherwise reliable vehicle. The gender difference in trust in self driving vehicles is also researched and its possible connection with risk-taking attitude. An online survey is used. Respondents first answered a few general questions and then filled in a risk taking attitude questionnaire and the pre-test version of the modified trust in automation scale. Afterwards the participants were put in either the ‘poor driving condition’ or the ‘perfect driving condition’. The respondents watched eight self-driving simulation videos on their computer and filled in the post-test version of the modified trust in automation scale after each video. Respondents experiencing ‘reliably unreliable’ vehicle behaviour did not change significantly in trust and respondents experiencing a single critical event recovered immediately in trust. According to Wayne and Miller (2018) and Bergdahl (2005), women are less confident in their driving abilities than men. Our study confirms that women have a lower trust in automated vehicles than men. No gender difference in risk taking attitude was found. The risk-taking attitude also did not correlate with the trust in automated vehicles. For future research we recommend to use physical driving simulations. Also, since the risk-taking attitude did not explain the gender difference in trust in automation, we recommend further investigation of how females differ in perceiving the dangers of risky driving.Show less